Kappe Chennigaraya temple
Kappe Chennigaraya is a smaller temple situated on the south side of the Belur Chennakeshava Temple complex in Karnataka, India. Commissioned by Shantala Devi, the pattada rani (principal queen consort) of King Vishnuvardana, the builder of the main Chennakeshava Temple, the construction of the Kappe Chennigaraya Temple began at the same time as the main temple, i.e., in 1117 CE. She took great interest in this temple and even oversaw its construction.
Architecture
While this temple is somewhat similar to the main Chennakeshava Temple architecture-wise, they differ in size and decoration. The Kappe Chennigaraya Temple is smaller and less ornate. It appears to be a prototype of the main temple.
Another significant difference between them is the number of garbhagrihas (inner sanctums). Whereas the Chennakeshava Temple is an ekakuta temple (i.e., single garbhagriha temple), the Kappe Chennigaraya is a dwikuta temple, which means it has two garbhagrihas, one in the west and another in the south. Each garbhagriha has an entrance in front of it.
Garbhagrihas
Similar to the main temple, the Kappe Chennigaraya shrine is dedicated to Vishnu. A life-size statue of Chennakeshava stands in the west garbhagriha, and a life-size statue of Venugopala stands in the south. Note that both Chennakeshava and Venugopala are different forms of Vishnu.
The image shows the garbhagriha on the south side of the Kappe Chennigaraya Temple. It is a square chamber with the life-size idol of Venugopala standing at the rear wall on a platform. Portrayed as a divine flute player, Venugopala is a form of Krishna. In Hindu mythology, Krishna is the eighth avatar of Vishnu. In Kannanda, Venu translates to flute, and Gopala to the protector of cows. As you can see from the image, Venugopala is standing in a tribhanga (bent in three places, knee, waist, and neck) pose and playing the flute. There is a similar garbhagriha housing the Chennakeshava idol on the west side of the temple.
The image here shows a narrative sculptural relief depicting Narasimha, the fourth incarnation of Vishnu, carved into the lintel of the south garbhagriha door. In this avatar, Vishnu has a man’s torso with a lion’s face and claws. He adopted this form to kill a demon named Hiranyakashipu.
The relief depicts Vishnu with the lion head and human torso having multiple hands with claws. With the body of Hiranyakashipu lying on his lap, Vishnu is seen ripping the entrails of Hiranyakashipu with his claws. On the bottom left is Garuda, Vishnu’s vehicle, kneeling with his hands folded. Surrounding this relief is a creeper making several circular patterns, each containing a small carving.
Navaranga
The navaranga is the covered hall in front of the garbhagrihas. Navaranga, which means nine sectors, is an essential element of the Hoysala temple architecture. In the navaranga design, the rectangular area is a grid of nine sections created by placing the pillars at the corners of the central section. A stone roof above these pillars covers the entire space. The central section of the navaranga, known as sabha mandapa, is typically the largest. In Kannada, sabha means gathering, and mantapa means hall/pavilion. Thus, a sabha mandapa is a community hall where people congregate. The pillars here are ornate with beautifully carved patterns. Mounted around the pillars and just below its capital are four finely-carved sculptures, popularly known as bracket figures.
Many pillars in the navaranga appear to be precisely cut and polished using sophisticated machinery, such as modern-day lathes. Because of their appearance, these are often called lathe-turned pillars, although nobody is sure how they were built. Lathe-turned pillars are a common feature in many Hoysala temples, including the main Chennakeshava Temple and basadis (Jain temples).
The dance floor
A beautifully crafted circular stone covers the floor of the sabha mantapa, and was used as a dance floor during the Hoysala period. As you can see from the above image, the dance floor is a perfectly round stone platform, which still maintains its original polish even after thousand years and is a testament to the ingenuity and superior craftsmanship of the Hoysala artisans. There are four pillars at the corners of the dance floor.
The image shows a section of the ceiling in the navaranga. The ceiling is recessed with a square-shaped niche and is carved with geometrical patterns at different levels of the niche. A sculptural relief depicting Lakshminarayana – a form of Vishnu presented with his consort Lakshmi – is at the centre surrounded by finely carved geometrical patterns. Note that Lakshminarayana is a combination of two names, Lakshmi and Narayana. Narayana is another name for Vishnu, and it means one who dwells on the water. In Sanskrit, nara means water and ayana means dwelling. According to Hindu mythology, Vishnu lives on the cosmic ocean.
Legend of Jakanachari
There is an interesting legend regarding how Kappe, which means frog in Kannada, became a part of this temple’s name. It involves Jakanachari, the legendary architect and sculptor of the Hoysala era. Here is a summary of this legend.Jakanachari was a master sculptor and a genius. He hailed from a village called Kridapura (which became Kaidala because of him) in the present-day Tumkur district in Karnataka. Because of marital discord, he left his wife Manjari, moved to the capital of the Hoysala Empire and worked as a master sculptor for King Vishnuvardana. Unbeknown to Jakanachari, his son Dakanachari, who was also a talented sculptor, came to Belur and started working for him. As Jakanachari was carving the statue of Chennakeshava for the Chennigaraya Temple, his son discovered a flaw, i.e., a frog was inside the belly of the sculpture. When confronted by his son about this flaw, Jakanachari felt humiliated and challenged him to prove it, and if he was proved right, he would cut off his right hand. Dakanachari was proved right, and a frog jumped out when they drilled a hole in the sculpture. Jakanachari kept his word and cut off his right hand. He also came to know that Dakanachari was his son. Legend has it that Vishnu restored his right hand once he built a temple dedicated to Vishnu in his hometown, which became known as Kaidala. In Kannada, kai means hand. Both Jakanachari and Dakanachari collaborated to carve a new Chennakeshava idol, and it was consecrated by none other than the Pattada Rani Shantala Devi. However, Kappe, the frog, remained a part of the name even after the defect-free idol was installed in the garbhagriha.